


of hair ties and white bandannas

by hnnng



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Canon Compliant, Childhood Friends, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Sapnap has long hair, Sapnap-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Spacebuns Sapnap Supremacy, set in the Dream SMP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28991025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hnnng/pseuds/hnnng
Summary: “Can I try something?” Dream asks, breaking the silence. “With your hair, I mean.”He holds his hand out to Sapnap, showing him two hair ties. The dark-haired boy nods, humming a quiet affirmation in response.(Aka Sapnap reflects on an aspect of his and Dream's friendship that is long gone). [DREAM SMP]
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 227





	of hair ties and white bandannas

**Author's Note:**

> hello! hi! this idea came from one of my own headcanons about dream smp sapnap which goes as follows: dream used to do sapnap's hair (in spacebuns) and sapnap wont let anyone else do it now 
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

Sapnap tugs on his raven-colored locks of hair. He stares at himself in the mirror, pulling a strand of hair from his head, noting the length. He lets go of the lock, watching as it joins the other long strands of hair.

His hair has been getting longer recently. The back basically reaches his shoulders, and if it weren’t for his signature white bandanna, he’s sure his bangs would obscure his vision even more than they already do.

He’s kept his hair fairly long for a while, but it’s been a long time since he’s so much as trimmed it.

Sapnap’s gaze shifts down towards the tabletop, staring at the various items strewn about. He picks up a scrunchie, grabbing his hair together in his fist. Carefully, he parts his hair and splits it into two sections, tying each section up into a loose but neat bun.

“That’s not right,” he frowns, muttering the words under his breath. “It doesn’t look like… how he used to do it.”

Frustrated by the memory of his best friend, Sapnap tugs out the hair buns, watching as his hair falls back into place.

* * *

The first time Sapnap had grown his hair out was when he was eleven. Back when his voice was squeaky (much to his own embarrassment at the time) and he had a gap where he’d lost one of his baby teeth. 

“Tag! You’re it!” Dream playfully says, tapping Sapnap on the back before running away through the numerous trees surrounding the area.

Sapnap squeals, quickly turning on his heel to start chasing Dream. Unfortunately for Sapnap, Dream is a lot taller than him and thus “tag” to them is really just “run away until someone gets too tired.” Sometimes Dream will take pity on him, however, and let him purposely tag him.

The dark-haired boy is so focused on chasing his friend that he doesn’t notice the way his bangs fall into his eyes. That is, he doesn’t notice until he ends up running head-first into the trunk of a growing sapling. 

“Ouch,” Sapnap murmurs, bringing his hands up to his nose, only for his hands to come back smeared with blood. Frantically, he brings his hands back up and tries to prevent the tears from welling up in his eyes.

“Pandas! Are you alright? … Oh,” Dream asks, having seen his friend collide with the tree. “Here, it’s okay!”

The blond kneels down, pushing the younger boy’s hands away from his nose, replacing them with his own sky blue hoodie sleeve

“But it’s gonna stain!” Sapnap protests, voice sniffly. Dream just smiles, continuing to soak up the blood on his sleeve.

“This hoodie was getting small anyway,” the older boy shrugs. “And I don’t really like the blue that much anymore.”

After ten or twenty minutes of having Dream’s sleeve pushed against his face, Sapnap’s nose stops bleeding. He and Dream go down to a nearby creek to wash off the dark-haired boy’s bloody hands and Dream’s sleeve.

“Oh,” Dream says suddenly, pulling a white bandanna out of his pocket. “I forgot I had this.”

“Aw. You ruined your hoodie for nothing, then,” Sapnap protests. Dream hums, seemingly lost in thought.

“Actually, I think this bandanna was worth keeping clean,” the blond says. “Here, face away from me.”

Sapnap does as he’s told, turning so that his back is to Dream’s front. After a few moments, he feels Dream push his hair back, followed by the feeling of the cloth wrapping around his forehead. A few soft tugs later, and the bandanna is firmly secured with a loose knot at the back of his head.

“There!” Dream cheers. “Now your hair won’t get in your eyes anymore. You can keep it, by the way.”

The younger boy kneels over the edge of the creek, staring at his wavering reflection in awe. “It looks so… cool! Thank you, Dream.”

Dream starts when the shorter boy wraps his arms around him, fastening him in a warm hug. The blond eagerly reciprocates, smiling.

“Of course, Pandas.”

* * *

The sound of wind gently ruffling the calm waves of the lake fills the air with a peaceful sort of somberness. Sapnap breathes in the cool air, It’s late evening, the sun slowly approaching the horizon.

He sits on one of the various walkways that stretch across the lake and lead to the community house. The glow from the lights inside said house illuminates the area. The gentle breeze lightly brushes some of his hair into his face, which he tries to blow away to no avail.

“Hey,” a voice calls out from behind him. Sapnap turns his head to the side, sparing a glance at Dream, who kneels down to sit beside him. “What are you up to?”   
  


Sapnap shrugs, turning back to look at the sunset. The older boy seems to think that’s enough of an answer, as the two of them fall into silence for a few minutes, only occasionally broken by Dream softly humming.

After a bit, Dream seems to get bored with the silence. The blond shifts onto his knees, turning to face Sapnap.

“Y’know, your hair is getting long again,” he points out.

“Do you think I should cut it?” the younger questions.

“Nah, I like it,” Dream says.

The two of them fall back into a peaceful silence for another few minutes, watching as the light from the sun slowly fades. They had recently illuminated the land around the lake with torches, so they don’t have to fear monsters much anymore.

“Can I try something?” Dream asks, breaking the silence. “With your hair, I mean.”

He holds his hand out to Sapnap, showing him two hair ties. The dark-haired boy nods, humming a quiet affirmation in response.

The blond shuffles so that he’s sitting behind his friend, the tips of his knees bumping into Sapnap’s lower back. The younger boy closes his eyes, letting Dream get to work.

Dream’s movements are gentle and careful. He takes extra care to ensure that he doesn’t tug too hard or pull too tightly. It’s calming. It’s caring.

Sapnap feels incredibly safe, in a way he can’t begin to describe. The sunlight has mostly faded, but the lights from the inside of the community house fill the air with a homely feeling. Sapnap hums as Dream continues to gently work on his hair.

“... There we go,” the blond says after a few minutes. He holds a small hand mirror out in front of Sapnap, allowing the younger boy to see. “Look, they’re like panda ears!”

His hair has been done up into two separate hair buns on each side of his head. Dream kept his bangs hanging around his face, but aside from that, the rest of his hair is up.

“I like it,” Sapnap says, smiling. 

“Let me do it again tomorrow?” 

“Sure.”

Despite the fact that Dream is done playing with Sapnap’s hair, neither of them move from their spot. Dream unfolds his knees, stretching out his legs so that the younger boy sits in between them. Sapnap himself relaxes, letting himself lean back up against his taller friend’s chest.

The blond wraps his arms around his shorter friend, resting his chin in between the two hair buns he had just tied. They remain that way for what must be at least another hour, but Sapnap isn’t sure because he ends up dozing off. 

“What are you two doing up still?” A voice calls from inside the house. Sapnap startles at the sound, looking up to see George leaning out of the doorway. “Come inside, I made dinner.”

* * *

After that day, it had become a morning tradition for Dream to do Sapnap’s hair. Sometimes Sapnap would sit at the table, half asleep as he ate breakfast, while Dream brushed his hair and put it in whatever style he chose for that day.

Other times it would be before one of them left for the day, or occasionally both of them would be so busy that they’d forget until the evening. Usually, Dream would style it into the classic space buns, however sometimes he liked to experiment. Sapnap had his hair done into pigtails, different types of ponytails and buns, even braids.

Day after day, Dream playing with Sapnap’s hair was basically a given. 

Until the Elections.

The server had grown more and more. Hell, they’d even had an entire  _ war _ . The land around the community house, once filled with dense forestry, is now full of various buildings that stretch along the long wooden path.

Sapnap is in the middle of a war with Fundy, and the server is having an election. It’s all really chaotic and confusing, so Sapnap stays away from it for the most part. He sticks to what he knows, which, really, is fighting. 

Dream isn’t around much either, and as a result, Sapnap’s hair ends being left down most days. The time taken out of Dream’s day to play with his hair becomes a once in a week occurrence, sometimes even once in two weeks. 

After the Battle of the Lake, Dream stops doing it altogether. Sapnap isn’t bothered too much by the fact, too busy being angry at his longest and closest friend for siding with Tommy, for giving away Mars, and for burning down his and Karl’s honeymoon spot.

Still, the dark-haired boy keeps his hair long. Sometimes he trims it a bit, but the idea of cutting it short makes his stomach squirm. 

He misses Dream.

* * *

It’s the dawn of one of the biggest days in the server’s history. The day Pogtopia and Manberg go to war. Sapnap sits on the edge of a table, watching as various people race past him, preparing their armor and weapons and storing whatever valuables they have in their enderchests.

Sapnap has no real reason to care about Manberg. Schlatt doesn’t matter to him. Of course, there’s George and Karl, but he hasn’t even seen George all day.

The only reason he’s here right now is because Dream asked him to be. Sapnap stares down at the black and red shield he was given.

He fights for Manberg because Dream does too. And now more than ever, he tries to cling to the remnants of their broken friendship.

A hand brushing his hair startles him out of his thoughts, causing him to flinch harshly.

“Sorry,” says the familiar voice of his best friend. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Dream waves the two hair ties in front of Sapnap’s face, letting him know what he wants to do. The shorter boy nods, allowing Dream to go through the ever-familiar motions of doing his hair.

One bun, then another, Dream’s gentle hands put him completely at ease, filling him with a sense of nostalgia for the older days.

“There you go,” the older boy says, smile hidden behind his mask. He pats Sapnap on the shoulder a few times, whispers a soft “good luck,” and heads out.

That was the last time Dream did Sapnap’s hair.

* * *

Nowadays, everything is different. The server has even more people on it, yet Dream is now gone. Not  _ gone- _ gone, but locked away. That kind of gone. 

Sapnap thinks he should visit, but each time he ends up trying to walk over to the prison, his stomach does flips and he feels shaky. So he stays away.

He isn’t sure what he’d say to Dream.

Would they sit in silence? Would they act like friends? Would Sapnap yell at Dream, for all the things he’s done to him over the past months?

_ The community house (our earliest memory) _

_ Mars and Beckerson _

_ The Eiffel tower _

_ His weapon. That’s what he was. But what is he now? _

Sapnap doesn’t really know.

So here he stands, looking into the bathroom mirror, playing with his hair.

In a sudden rush of determination mixed with anger, fear, and sadness, he grabs the scissors sitting on the nearby tabletop. Dark locks of hair flutter to the ground with each snip, until his hair is a few inches shorter, curling around the nape of his neck rather than touching his shoulders.

It’s much too short to style now.

“That’s better,” Sapnap whispers.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading :D  
> if you enjoyed i would love it you left kudos, comments, or bookmarked the fic. it means the world to me <3
> 
> as always, i'm @bapnaps on twitter, if you love dsmp!sapnap i would love to hear your thoughts on him also :)


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